Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Month after month and year after year, we have watched this Government fail to bring the housing crisis under control. From what I can see, this Government is effectively trying to normalise the crisis and trying to get ordinary people to think that this is just the way it is, that these things happen and that it will work its way through it. We in Sinn Féin will never accept this. This Government's failed housing policies are not working and need change. Sinn Féin is committed to being the party that builds affordable homes, regenerates inner-city flat complexes, puts an end to the greed and ensures renters are treated fairly and justly. We need to give workers and their families the type of security which renters across Europe have had for years. This Bill would ensure that ordinary workers and families have that security. The reality of failing to provide these protections is painfully clear to see.

In Dublin this Christmas, over 3,000 children will wake up in emergency accommodation. I met one family today who are in a homeless hub. For them, with three children, what they are going through is absolutely devastating. It is traumatic.

The long-term effect cannot be underestimated and we should not be accepting this as a normal behaviour. This Bill will protect workers and families who pay their rent on time - renters who fulfil their side of the agreement, but are left exposed to the whim of a landlord who might all of a sudden want them out. Families and workers need to be put first.

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